I can’t lie, after a long time away from Destiny 2 the marketing hype around Lightfall had my interest piqued.
Finally, the class is between darkness and light. Or at least The Traveller and its old nemesis The Witness.
The trailers were awesome, the font looked like the “Lightyear” font from the recent Pixar movie, and I was suckered back in. Lightfall got me, and apparently many others, hook, line and sinker.
It’s become obvious quite quickly, that this isn’t the expansion to top the critically acclaimed Witch Queen expansion. But even if we don’t compare it to the game’s highest point. I’m struggling to compare elements of it to anything but the original Destiny release.
Lightfall
Whilst starting the campaign, I saw a lot of red flags. By the time I finished, I was largely unimpressed and left deflated. I ignore online opinions, particularly as the fan base can be quite…..opinionated on the tiniest things.
Critical response mirrors that of the community in a lot of ways, though. So it isn’t to be dismissed entirely.
Lightfall starts out really really strong. Using those clips from the marketing that got me hyped. But after the first mission, I found myself a little confused.
Missions have just been a tutorial for the new darkness-based subclass. But you don’t actually have it to use elsewhere. It feels like a subclass built for a Hive-based campaign. Certainly from an aesthetic perspective, anyway. It’s fun, and I don’t dislike it, but it doesn’t feel natural for the neon-lit Neomuna….
My Lightfall impressions all over are that things just seem to have been put together to create some kind of release. The new planet feels empty, with so many places to get stuck.
Level-gating missions to slow your progress through the story. The really poorly-written Nimbus character. A MacGuffin called “The Sky Ark” very quickly explains why Neomuna has no sign of ever being lived in.
Lightfall just doesn’t feel like a premium expansion to a series that, at this point, should know better.
By the end of the story, I’m not really sure what the hell “The Veil” is, I’ve got Strand which isn’t fin after having it made a chore and Neomuna is just an empty space filled with stupidly tanky enemies for no good reason. It’s not fun, quite frankly.
It’s not all a loss
There are some high points. A Halo-esque race against time to ride it off a mission. Lovely music, and stellar cutscenes. Plus, there’s a pending raid, set to be released soon. If that’s a solid encounter, people will remember Lightfall more fondly.
If, you’re like me, though. And haven’t played in ages. I can say that it’s been a pleasure to return to Destiny 2. DLC has been cheap, and the content over the past year or so has been solid, so there’s a lot of genuinely great stuff to go at, anyway.
I have storylines, exotics, PvE and PvP stuff to try. A whole host of things that I’ve actively ignored.
Looking forward….
Lightfall might come around in the coming seasons. But who wants to pay for another season pass after a hollow launch, just to get some of what should have perhaps already been there
I get it developers need time, and frankly, games reaching release are akin to a miracle! But it’s ok to delay the release or manage community expectations….
So far, I’ve had fun getting back into the groove, but 90% of that fun is the core and pre-existing game. Lightfall is a slip-up if you ask me, and I can’t see my opinion changing, which is a real shame.
Here’s hoping the new raid is actually fun (just got to a decent-enough power level!), and Bungie doesn’t charge people to continue the narrative and stakes we were sold on.
It sure looks like Lightfall is a rush job of ideas from past and future expansions.
Time to enjoy all that Destiny 2 is, and hope things improve soon enough.
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